Ultimate Coconut Cake
Coconut cake is one of those flavors that you either love, or hate. Well, if you love coconut, this recipe for white coconut cake covered in a fluffy coconut buttercream is for you. Decorate the tropical cake with copious amounts of shredded coconut for the perfect finish.
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Size Matters
I’ve been wanting to make a coconut cake for years, but other projects kept distracting me. While it seems like a basic recipe concept, there were quite a few factors I needed to figure out. Mainly size and how to incorporate the coconut.
After scrolling through many, many pictures of other cakes, I decided to go with a three layer 8 inch cake. This gave me three thinner layers than my normal cakes, but the cake looked more substantial overall. It also created a lovely cake to buttercream ratio.
Triple the Coconut
While I wouldn’t consider coconut a bland or subtle flavor, it is not a bold flavor either. Since I wanted this cake to be the ultimate coconut cake, I decided to incorporate the flavor using three different ingredients.
By using coconut milk, coconut extract, and shredded coconut, every single bite of this cake gives you a full blast of the tropical vibes. In my opinion, the flavor is strong, but balanced. You can always tweak the extract amount to suit your own tastes.
Coconut Cake
White cakes are pretty, but they can sometimes be a bit dry because they don’t have the added fat egg yolks bring to the party. To counter that, we’re using full fat canned coconut milk. However, the fat tends to congeal at the top of the can. Not helpful.
I placed my can of coconut milk on top of the oven while it preheated. This gently warmed up the can and my coconut milk was mostly liquid. I avoided the biggest globs of coconut solids when I measured it out. To make sure it’s smooth, microwave your measured milk for 30 seconds and give it a mix. You could also probably have fantastic results with light or carton coconut milk, but I haven’t tried that.
Top Tips for Cakes
- Make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature. This will help everything blend nicely and give your cake a nice texture.
- Scrape down your bowl often. Butter and sugar can hide out at the bottom of your bowl. Make sure everything gets blended!
- Do NOT over mix. Once you add the wet and dry ingredients, keep the speed on stir and only mix to combine.
- Wilton baking strips will give you a flat top and prevent the edges from caramelizing.
- Use an electronic scale to divide your cake batter into the pans.
Related Reading: FREE Cake Baking Course for Beginners
Coconut Hybrid Buttercream
Since I used egg whites in my coconut cake batter, I decided to make my hybrid buttercream to cover the cake. It also uses pasteurized egg whites! If you’d rather make a more traditional American buttercream, check out my tropical cupcakes recipe. Just be sure to scale the buttercream recipe up a bit.
This coconut buttercream is pure white, light, and one taste will transport you to a gorgeous beach with white sand and palm trees. While the coconut flavor is very clear, I kept it slightly more mellow so that the coconut cake would be able to shine as well. Feel free to taste and adjust the flavor a bit.
Baking & Decorating
My standard cake recipe is a three layer 6 inch cake. I think they’re gorgeous. But if I’m being honest, they don’t make for pretty slices. Since I don’t normally do 8 inch cakes, I figured I’d show you what that looks like for me. Here’s the step by step recipe and decorating tutorial for my ultimate coconut cake!
I don’t have 8 inch cake discs, so I had to frost this cake with just my eye and scraper to guide me. However, I knew I wanted to cover this cake in shredded coconut, so while I wanted straight sides, I didn’t fret over minor blemishes or bubbles. For the top, a couple of plops with my Ateco 869 gave the cake an elegant look.
Enjoy!
Soft white coconut cake layers, light coconut buttercream, and a generous sprinkle of shredded coconut make this recipe the ultimate coconut cake. If you make this cake, tag @bakesandblunders on Facebook or Instagram so I can see your work!
Coconut Cake
Ingredients
White Coconut Cake
- 8 oz all- purpose flour
- 3 oz cake flour
- 1 oz dried buttermilk
- 2 1/2 tsps baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 13 oz sugar
- 7 oz unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 Tbsps cake enhancer optional
- 2 tsps coconut extract
- 6 fl oz pasteurized egg whites room temperature
- 8 fl oz full fat canned coconut milk*
- 3 Tbsps canola oil
Coconut Hybrid Buttercream
- 3 oz pasteurized egg whites
- 36 oz powdered sugar sifted
- 24 oz unsalted butter softened
- 1 tsp coconut extract
- 5- 7 oz shredded coconut for filling & decorating
Instructions
White Coconut Cake
- Preheat the oven to 325°F and spray three 8 inch cake pans with cake release and line with parchment rounds. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flours, buttermilk, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a measuring glass with a spout, combine the coconut milk and oil. Set aside.
- Beat the sugar, butter, and cake enhancer (if using) on a medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5- 8 minutes. Remember to scrape the bowl down once or twice during this step.
- Add the coconut extract to the butter mixture and beat until combined. Then add the egg whites in 3- 4 additions, mixing until combined after each. Scrape down the bowl as needed.
- Add 1/3 of the dry ingredients to the mixer and beat until just combined. With the mixer on low, slowly add half of the liquids and beat until just combined. Repeat with another third of the dry ingredients, the remainder of the liquids, and finally the remainder of the dry. Scrape down the bowl as needed.
- Divide the batter among the three cake pans, about 15- 16 oz each. Bake for about 40 minutes or until the cakes pull away from the edge of the pan and spring back when touched.
- Cool in the pans for 15 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Cool completely before filling and stacking.
Coconut Hybrid Buttercream
- Using a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, add the pasteurized egg whites and about 14 ounces of the sifted powdered sugar and whip for 4- 5 minutes. If powdered sugar gets stuck above the egg whites, scrape it back down.
- With the mixer on a medium speed, whip in the butter one tablespoon at a time. It will look a bit curdled. Once all of the butter has been combined, whip on a medium- high speed for 2- 4 minutes.
- Switch to a paddle attachment and scrape the bowl down. Beat the mixture on a medium speed for another 2 minutes. Scrape the bowl down and add the remaining powdered sugar in 3- 4 additions. Beat on low to combine, then on a medium- low speed for a minute.
- Scrape the bowl down and add the coconut extract. Beat on low to combine, then on a medium- low speed for 1- 2 minutes. Taste and adjust flavors as necessary.
Assembly
- If necessary, trim the cake layers so they are even and flat. Place one cake layer on a cake stand and cover in a layer of coconut buttercream. Use an offset spatula to smooth the frosting. Sprinkle with shredded coconut. Repeat with the next layer.
- Place the final cake layer on top with the bottom facing up. Cover the entire cake in a thin crumb coat. Chill until set, about 15- 30 minutes.
- Cover the entire cake in a final layer of buttercream. While the frosting is still soft, gently press shredded coconut all over the sides of the cake. Pipe large dollops of buttercream around the edge of the cake. Add more shredded coconut to the center of the cake. Serve or chill!
Notes
- The ingredients for the cake must be room temperature or warmer or the batter will curdle.
- Gently warm the coconut milk so that the solids melt. Read the blog post for further guidance.
Colleen
Hi there! I’m Colleen, a novice baker with a passion for learning and improving my bakes… and blunders. On Bakes and Blunders, you can find all sorts of tasty recipes that range in difficulty, but most importantly, I’ll try to explain the reason behind important steps. If you know why a recipe works, you can tweak and adapt it to suit your unique tastes, and you’ll be able to reliably produce some very delicious treats. If you love baking and want to expand and grow your skills, or if you are a casual baker and just need some pointers, my blog is right up your alley! Join me on my baking journey and we’ll learn how to make more impressive recipes together.
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